Alberta legislature adjourns after session dominated by separatism talks
Posted May 14, 2026 2:28 pm.
Last Updated May 14, 2026 2:29 pm.
An Alberta legislature session dominated by conversations of separatism, an alleged leak of the province’s voter list, and citizen-initiated petitions wrapped Thursday.
House Leader Joseph Schow says the issue of separatism took up a lot of hours in the Legislature this session, but that was all thanks to the Opposition NDP.
“It has occupied a lot of time from the NDP,” he said in a Thursday press conference. “You’ll see we passed 17 bills this spring that deal directly with the issues that we feel are important based on what we hear from our stakeholders and from Albertans.
“But, the NDP choose to continue to occupy their time talking about separation. The fact is, that is the only thing they are talking about because they have no plan for anything else.”
NDP leader Naheed Nenshi spoke Thursday, rejecting Schow’s claim and accusing Premier Danielle Smith of encouraging the movement for political reasons.
“What exceptional garbage,” he said. “The premier has been pandering to it, she’s been feeding it, she wants people to think it’s growing because she thinks that supports her political agenda.”
Among the bills passed by the government during the spring session were Bill 18, which limits Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) for patients whose sole underlying condition is mental illness, Bill 23, which would allowed for an end to Daylight Saving Time, Bill 28 which reduces minors’ access to sexually explicit material in school libraries, and Bill 29, which will allow Albertans to self-refer for diagnostic testing.
The NDP says the bills passed by the government don’t reflect Albertans’ values, including focusing on “two-tier American-style healthcare,” getting rid of Daylight Saving Time despite Albertans calling for the opposite in a referendum, introducing a fall referendum on questions motivated by racism, and more.
MLAs will return to the house on Oct. 27.
